Lou Spanos will be named UConn's next defensive coordinator | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Lou Spanos will be named UConn's next defensive coordinator

Hey, I know we mentioned that DC doesn't put much time into the recruits but maybe he can connect with some of high schools down there. Southern boys get intrigued by snow. Maybe he can swing a JUCO or two....
 
2Infinity said:
Some great quotes from his former Head Coaches. All sound very positive...seems like HCRE 2.0 has made a very good hire!

"He is a great teacher of the game and it is very important to him that his players find success. He brings toughness and physicality to everywhere he has coached."
  • Mike Mularkey, former Tennessee Titans head coach
"He had an immediate and profound impact on the UCLA football program and our student athletes as our defensive coordinator. Lou is a great communicator, a creative football mind... who will embrace the vision of Coach Edsall and UConn football."
  • Jim Mora, former UCLA head coach
"Lou is a heck of a football coach... who players instantly follow and listen to and his knowledge of the game is very impressive. Perhaps his best quality is his ability to relate to players and that is of the utmost importance. This is a great hire by UConn."
  • Mike Shanahan, Two-time Super Bowl Champion head coach

Lou Spanos Joins Huskies as Defensive Coordinator - University of Connecticut Athletics
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Like the quotes, but it also dawns on me what these three coaches have in common.
 
I would’ve hired him on name alone.
Lou Spanos
If that doesn’t shout DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR I don’t know what does.
 
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Hornet22 said:
Even if it’s a 3-4 one of those outside backers will likely drop down and show pressure from the outside. You have to rush 4 and blitz in order to disrupt timing with today’s offense. Unless your front 3 consists of Sapp, Donald and Suh you need to bring 4 or more
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Yeah, I don't understand any complaints about 3-4. Nobody anywhere plays a pure 3-4 or 4-3 anymore. They will occasionally bring both outside linebackers in a 3-4, or neither, and 4-3's drop DL in coverage now and then or have an OLB or ILB rush.

I have no doubt that Lou knows what he's doing no matter what the base scheme it. I think Randy wants us to be more multiple anyway, showing a variety of fronts and creating confusion.
 
gtcam said:
I hear some who question his ability to recruit - but does he have to?
Can't he a RE2 sit down and Spanos give RE2 an idea of what type of player he wants and RE2 goes out there to close the deal or maybe RE2 gives Spanos tape and he uses his analyst skills to say yeah or NEXT?
Some guys are great at coaching tactics and techniques and have less than stellar people skills - that's fine - stick the salesmen on the recruits
From what I am reading - this is a damn good get for RE2 - but I have no knowledge of his coaching ability but seems to have success attached to a lot of his gigs
WELCOME COACH SPANOS
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He 100% absolutely has to be able to recruit. We need coaches that have the ability to sell recruits to pass up P5 offers to come to UCONN. We also need coaches who can identify talent.

Coach Crocker failed to make adjustments but I can’t count how many times a player was in position to make a play and simply got bowled over or had feet like cement and watched the opposing player run by.

Love the Shanahan quote on him. We need a coach who can reach the players, who can tell them why UCONN is a great fit. It doesn’t matter how good of a scheme a coach deploys.
 
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Husky25 said:
Like the quotes, but it also dawns on me what these three coaches have in common.
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They were also fairly successful to very successful NFL head coaches.

I get a sense of what I think Randy is trying to do with this hire and the Dunn hire. I think his time with the Lions left an impression. The NFL is far more multiple on offense and defense than the college game. There is no doubt that a college team doesn't have the time with players to run those kinds of schemes in full, but if they can manage a 2/3 version (a) it could be quite effective and (b) it would be attractive to NFL teams, and thus to recruits.

It's similar to the argument we make about kids going to Syracuse and playing 2-3 zone as preparation for the NBA. The reality is a pure spread offense is lousy prep for the NFL, so is a Navy style option attack. The same applies on defense. Some stunting and shifting in an out of different fronts, dropping DLs, rushing safeties, LBs who can cover and play the run game. Attractive stuff. And these two coaches can teach it. How quickly the kids can pick it up and how well they execute it, that's the question.
 
99.5% (probably more) of these kids will NOT play in the #NFL, so why not focus on running your offense and defense in a style that helps you win ? Makes for a better college (young adult life) experience. I think quite a few P5 schools get it, which is why they're P5...
 
Chuck said:
They should hire Rutgers' PR firm to make a poster that shows how much money players have made that were coached (or "analyzed") by UConn coaches.
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Expert level thought process here. The question is when can we take credit for Alabama's national championships?
 
.-.
Personally speaking, I'm a 3-4 guy. Give me a big hog molly in the middle (hopefully T Jones develops into this) and a slew of athletic LBs chasing down RB/QBs. I love hybrid pass rushers who can line up all over the field and find soft spots in protection. But I don't think many teams, if any, stick to a base defense any more. Seems like defenses these days are very much matchup-based...then cross your fingers and hope for the best.
 
Timking124 said:
I love this hire! From what I have read it seems like Spanos is a blitzing man and finds ways to create takeaways.
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Crocker was a heavy blitzer too before he got here so let's see how much Randy chokes this scheme too
 
I feel we are far better on Defense today

... because I’m eternally blue skies AND non-Nutmeg. Spanos sack total increase at UCLA sings to me
 
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Paging Conspiracy Kitty @CL82 : Why would Spanos go from UCLA to NFL teams to NFL light in Alabama to UCONN? Was he told of a future conference invite?:eek:
 
JMick said:
Crocker was a heavy blitzer too before he got here so let's see how much Randy chokes this scheme too
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You ever heard of the phrase "you have to earn the right to rush the passer"? It's hard to justify sending blitzes when you cant stop the run, there is constant blown coverages, we can't play man, we don't contain the edges and we barely got home when he did dial it up.
 
hardcorehusky said:
Paging Conspiracy Kitty @CL82 : Why would Spanos go from UCLA to NFL teams to NFL light in Alabama to UCONN? Was he told of a future conference invite?:eek:
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I'd be surprised if he was going to be let go by UCLA just looking at how well the team did and how he improved the defense from the previous year.

Bruins fans seem appreciative of his time there and caught off guard when he left

Lou Spanos Returns To The NFL
 
At this stage of the game(and stage of the football program) everyone including the coordinators and head coach need to be out there talking to kids about coming to UConn. The more people turning over stones looking for those diamonds in the rough and selling UConn to them the better.
 
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